Wow. I went over this post in my head for a while and now I’m coming up blank because of everything going on. One thing I’ve realized is that this driving my wife to and from work has really taken a toll on me. This is the last week I’m doing it, but I’m plain exhausted now. I can’t ease into my day by seeing everyone off, checking email, getting on the bike, and having myself ready by 10 AM. Now, it’s getting myself ready while wrangling everyone else, facing traffic, running errands, buy breakfast if I didn’t get to eat at home, and get back into the house AT 10 AM to finally get a shower. No wonder I’ve been moving slow. Part of me isn’t surprised though since there’s a pattern of bad stuff happening around me when I’m about to release a book or just released one. At least this is the worst of it . . . or so I thought.

Working off the plan that Legends of Windemere: Warlord of the Forgotten Age will be released next Saturday, I will have no time to enjoy the sensation of finishing such a long series. The following Monday is when I go in for a certain procedure that requires I be put under. Next Sunday will be spent preparing myself with various medications and a specific diet. I’ll get to enjoy things on that Tuesday, but it feels like it’ll be too late to get the full effect of publishing the book and getting all the promos out. Saturday is going to be really busy with me at my laptop and trying to keep everything else under control since my wife still won’t be driving very well.

I’d be lying if I said I was scared about this because I’ve never been put under for anything. My imagination is running wild since this is right on the heels of the last book of my series going live. Almost like the universe is planning something really mean. Fine, I’ll say it. Part of me wonders if this will result in me dying right after the last book is out because of some freak accident. Is it logical? No, but I’m not really thinking clearly on this thing. After feeling like I’ve been in a physical and mental grinder all year, this comes off as a nasty culmination.

This week saw only a little progress on other fronts. I managed to do a synopsis and a few casts for the next Ichabod Brooks collection. It’s gone up to 13 stories because a new one popped into my head. This will be a 2019 release because I need next year to focus on War of Nytefall, which my wife finally read and gave me edits for. A lot of sloppiness with spelling and grammar, but I hadn’t looked over it myself. She says the story and characters work while I’m still fighting doubt. I poured over the notes and characters first and added/deleted stuff as I went along. Yet, I can’t shake the feeling that I messed up somewhere. Maybe it’s been so long since I started a new ‘core’ series for Windemere that I’m confused. Bedlam and Ichabod aren’t at this scale in terms of multi-series world-building. This establishes the Dawn Fangs and reveals more about the Great Cataclysm, especially the aftermath. For example, Gaia will appear at times, but it isn’t as large as what people saw in Legends of Windemere.

Another option is that I’ve been fighting so many battles with no end in sight that I can’t muster enough confidence to be sure of myself. Even the idea of handing it off to beta readers fills me with dread because I keep seeing how vampires cause massive fights. It seems everyone has an idea of what they should and should not do, so all versions of the mythos gets torn apart. Not to mention these characters are darker and closer to anti-heroes than the champions, so I fear that people won’t be happy with me going in this direction. My wife seemed to have a problem with how Clyde and Mab would viciously argue and fight. They have no problem coming to blows since they are able to heal quickly, so there’s more brutality in their relationship. Then again, Mab is one of her old RPG characters, so it might be similar to how I’m still in trouble for cutting Nyx’s hair.

The immediate future sees me working more on Ichabod Brooks than touching anything else. I don’t want to try editing the new book until I get Warlord of the Forgotten Age out and get through that procedure. That will only give me a week before my son has his Holiday Break too, so maybe I shouldn’t try anything until January. Haven’t had any luck finding a new cover artist who would be willing to work on a series too. I’ve noticed that a series requires more original work than clipart/photoshop/whatever pictures. You need uniform in the covers, so taking a pre-existing picture can be a problem if there isn’t more of them. At least from what I can tell because I haven’t heard back from any of the artists I sent emails too. I won’t put this one out until March/April, which means I have time to gather my resources though.

Now, you can post a question now and the whole thing will last a week. There are also sharing tabs for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, so I’d greatly appreciate any helping in spreading the word. I’ve already got 12 questions, but I’m hoping to get a lot more. Thanks for any help you can give on this. If it works out then it’ll be a fun thing to do as a hype builder in the future.

Goals of the week:

Plan more of ‘The Longbow of Ichabod Brooks’.

Try to get at least 2 days of biking.

Bring wife to get cast off and try not to tease her too much about the smell.

Pray that I don’t have to handle another violent tantrum.

Hopefully release the long-awaited finale.

Celebrate Hanukkah.

Watch more Fairy Tail. Move on to Fullmetal Alchemist since I only have up to episode 72 of Fairy Tail and the upstairs TV lacks Internet access.

Keep an eye out for a War of Nytefall cover artist.

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About Charles Yallowitz

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. 'Legends of Windemere' is his first series, but it certainly won't be his last.

Breathing really works. For those who know about mindfulness but don’t do it, just do a few breaths. I do this at school with children, and it calms them. Slow, deep breath in, then blow out like you’re blowing through a straw. Three of those and you’ll feel better. Best to you, Charles.

Honestly, maybe you should. I’ve had a week of relative quiet and accomplished nothing. The medicine just makes me want to sleep. I regret the lost time, but maybe my body is trying to tell me something.